Nothing about closing of St. Brendan school rings true

Nothing about closing of St. Brendan school rings true
EDITOR:
We are writing to respectively disagree with the decision to close St. Brendan School.
Reasons that were listed included declining attendance and registrations, financial difficulties, and changing demographics. All of which seem to be inaccurate. The registration for next school year was at 108 not including kindergarten registration, which has remained stable over the past several years. The article in the March 1 Vindicator indicated that the numbers for next year would be declining when it is more likely, that with kindergarten registration, it would actually be increasing. Also in this same Vindicator article it mentioned the attendance of the other area Catholic schools and stated that St. Brendan had 119 pupils, St. Christine 444 pupils, St. Matthias 124, and Immaculate Conception 77. Obviously, the smaller schools cannot compete with St. Christine's size but that is part of their charm and draw. St. Matthias is almost identical in size and Immaculate Conception is considerably smaller. If decreasing enrollment is truly a reason then why is the school with the lowest enrollment still open?
In regard to the financial difficulties, the Home and School Association raises over $26,000 annually in fund raising to pay for "school expenses" and to pay the special teachers' salaries. Parents of these pupils are paying one of the highest tuition rates in the area, and continue to pay because of their belief in this school. In addition, the parents of St. Brendan School are required to work eight bingos a year (bingo brings in $100,000 annually).
Third, in regard to the "demographics," all of the Catholic schools in Youngstown are faced with the same demographics and problems that this brings. These demographics need to be examined and a plan developed to incorporate them into Catholic education, not run away from them. Our mission statement at St. Brendan states, "St. Brendan School has been established and is maintained by the people of the parish. St. Brendan School works in partnership with parents to provide their children with an educational experience in which the Catholic tradition and Catholic Christian values are integrated into the fabric of daily living." This is not what has occurred.
In regard to the manner in which we were informed, the children should not have been informed before their parents. They exited the school that day crying and devastated to parents who had no idea what had occurred. Children, especially younger children cannot process this type of information and loss as well as the older children. Parents were not given the opportunity to prepare their children for this loss or to comfort them in time of loss.
Finally, the parents of St. Brendan have been requesting meetings since the beginning of the year to address concerns and rumors about the school but none were ever called or scheduled.
We here at St. Brendan School are a strong and united group of people and deserve to know the truth behind the closing. We would like a pastor who will fight for his parish and the school children, for they are the future of the parish not the demise of it.
Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS R. KUPEC
Canfield
Pointing fingers won't help
EDITOR:
I am writing to clear up a few misconceptions in the letter, "Funneling taxes to schools that fail levies is unfair."
First of all, Youngstown city schools have not asked for an operating levy since 1987. We did pass a bond levy for our construction project, which I would like to personally thank the voters for. Secondly, property tax collected in Boardman goes to the Boardman School System, just like all the other surrounding communities in Mahoning County. Thirdly, the citizens of Youngstown pay just as much property tax as the suburbs because of House Bill 920, which decreases the millage paid by taxpayers as property values go up. Therefore, Youngstown city schools are not taking away tax dollars from other communities.
We are financially sound for now, however, just as the author of that letter wrote, school funding is an issue. It is an issue that we are not going to solve by pointing fingers at each other. We need to start holding our state lawmakers accountable for what is being done.
SHELLEY MURRAY, member
Youngstown Board of Education